Indian FM Swaraj: If Khan is so 'generous', he should hand over Islamist terrorist leader Masood Azhar

RT
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 18:37 UTC

© (L) Reuters / Pool / Madoka Ikegami; (C) AFP / Indranil Mukherjee; (R) Reuters / Pool / Thomas Peter

Sushma Swaraj, Masood Azhar, Imran Khan

New Delhi can't have effective talks with Pakistan unless it cracks down on terrorist groups operating on its soil, Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj warned.

Last week, Pakistani security forces detained more than 40 people belonging to various terrorist groups, including the brother and the son of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader, Masood Azhar. Prime Minister Imran Khan vowed to not allow the militants to use Pakistani territory "for any kind of outside terrorism."

Speaking at a public event on Thursday, Sushma Swaraj challenged Khan's commitment.

Some people say Imran Khan is a statesman, if he is so generous then he should hand over JeM chief Masood Azhar to India. Let's see how generous he is

"We do not want talk on terror, we want action on it. Terror and talks cannot go together," she stressed.

"We are ready to engage Pakistan in an atmosphere free from terror."

Indian politicians have accused Pakistan of being unable to combat JeM and other militant groups that carry out cross-border attacks against India. Minister Swaraj took a jab at the Pakistani government, accusing it of directly aiding the terrorists.

"You not only keep JeM on your soil, but fund them and when the victim country retaliates, you attack it on the terror outfit's behalf," she said, adding that Islamabad also needs to control its army and chief intelligence agency, which seek to destroy relations between the states.

Following an attack that killed 40 Indian soldiers in Kashmir in February, New Delhi carried out an air raid into Pakistani territory targeting JeM camps, which led to the dramatic flare-up of tensions between the nations.

Comment: China, as an ally of Pakistan, has an interest in the fate of the JeM group.

China has blocked a bid to designate as a terrorist the leader of the group behind an attack last month that dramatically escalated tensions between India and Pakistan.

China prevented the United Nations Security Council on March 13 from blacklisting Masood Azhar, the leader of Pakistan-based group Jaish-e Mohammad (JeM), which claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed 40 troops in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Britain, France, and the United States had requested Azhar to be subject to an assets freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo.

But China placed a "technical hold" on the request, saying it needed more time to examine it.

China, a Pakistan ally, had previously blocked attempts to have Azhar blacklisted.

India said that it will continue to pursue "all available avenues to ensure that terrorist leaders who are involved in heinous attacks on our citizens are brought to justice."

Azhar founded JeM in 2000. The group, which is officially banned in Pakistan, was blacklisted by the Security Council in 2001.

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Regarding the JeM group:

• Ex-president Musharraf admits Pakistani intel ISI used terror outfit JeM to carry out attacks in India during his tenure
• Pakistan cracks down on Islamists at the center of Indo-Pakistani tensions
• Pakistan-India showdown: What you're not being told